Digital Foundations: Intro to Media Design with the Adobe Creative Suite

by Michael Mandiberg, xtine burrough, Mandiberg Michael, et al.

Book Overview

This text teaches classic design principles alongside the basic digital tools of Adobe's Creative Suite. Students will learn the basic principles of design and how to implement them using current... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321555988
• ISBN13: 9780321555984
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Peachpit Press
• Length: 333 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Practical technical instruction with great art + design references

As an instructor of digital art and design courses, I was thrilled with this book. It provides essential introductory instruction in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Flash, offering numerous ways for new users to engage with what can seem an overwhelming set of tools. Digital Foundations stands out in this genre because of the care the authors have taken to situate technical instruction within the history of art and design. They take a significant cue from the Bauhaus Basic Course and introduce principles of composition and color theory, teaching skills in 'seeing' as well as 'doing'. Other chapters turn to Dada, net.art, and the early history of photography. Throughout the book the authors present interesting references and creative challenges, encouraging students to go beyond rote learning and engage with the material on a deeper level. Having used a number of technically oriented textbooks in my classes, I can say that the lessons in Digital Foundations are a refreshing change from the assignments given elsewhere. It is readily apparent that the authors are artists-- and that, in this case, is a very good thing. This is a great book for classroom or personal use and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a smart and creative introduction to designing with the Adobe Creative Suite. (Its worth noting that though the authors use CS4, the book is designed to be version-independent).

Sorely needed text in New Media Foundations

Really solid merger of Bauhaus Foundations and practical applications. The episodic portions of art and computational history create a fine narrative arc, and marry the two genres together well. I'm trying to get my college to adopt it in some of our 1st and 2nd-year classes. Patrick Lichty, Assiatand Professor Interactive Arts & Media, Columbia College Chicago

Finally A Well-Balanced Text for Adobe Programs!

I have used several online lessons and files from the Digital Foundations Wiki for classes I am teaching this semester. So far, the students are doing well and I am able to reinforce ideas about composition, balance etc. while teaching Creative Suite---something that was seriously lacking the technical lessons I had used before. The wiki has been particularly helpful since I was hired to teach one class at the last minute and no textbook was ordered or required for the students. This series of lessons is much more engaging, practical and creative than other books out there. I can't wait for my review copy to come in the mail!